The Inside Assyria Discussion Forum

=> "Arab Stereotypes" (College notes from U-M, 2006)

"Arab Stereotypes" (College notes from U-M, 2006)
Posted by Jeff (Guest) jeff@attoz.com - Friday, January 27 2006, 7:17:41 (CET)
from 69.14.30.71 - d14-69-71-30.try.wideopenwest.com Commercial - Windows XP - Mozilla
Website:
Website title:

Arab Stereotypes
A Pre-listening questions
1. How do you define the term “stereotype”?
2. Can you think of any stereotypes that appear often in American life and thought?
3. Has your own ethnic identity ever been the object of stereotyping? If so, when and in what context?
4. In your opinion how is it best to counter the effects of stereotypes




B. Outline
1. The term stereotypes
2. Process of development
3. Arab Stereotypes
4. Sources of Arab Stereotypes
5. Effects of stereotyping
6. Time for a change




1. Stereotypes
a. Stereotypes refer to certain fixed conceptions which people hold about other people
b. Stereotypes tend to be erroneous rather than accurate statements about the reality to which they refer
c. Stereotypes are acquired in most cases in a second-hand manner rather than through personal and direct exposure




1. Stereotypes
d. Stereotypical conceptions categorize people as a group and lead us to believe that all people in the group are similar
e. Stereotypes tend to serve as the basis for action or behavior toward the ‘other’




2. Process of development
Stereotypes don’t happen all of a sudden, they undergo a long process of development.




2. Process of development
(Source: Professor John Wood)
a. Ignorance-lack of correct information
b. Misconceptions-manipulated misinformation spread
c. Negative images distilled from misconceptions
d. Reductionism: “All ____ are ____”
e. Stereotypes
f. Prejudice
g. Racism and discrimination




3. Arab stereotypes
The prominent image closely associated with Arabs and Muslims in the news media even before the September 11 tragedy is that of a terrorist






3. Arab stereotypes
a. Terrorist
1) Fanatic "fundamentalist"
2) Amoral outlaw
3) Violent and full of hate
4) Bomber, and engaged in hijacking airliners




3. Arab stereotypes
b. Rich Oil Sheik
1) Greedy oil billionaire
2) Destroy the world's economy
3) Influence foreign policy
4) Palaces, harem and belly-dancers




3. Arab stereotypes
c. Muslim Fanatic
1) Religious hypocrite
2) Exotic and different
3) Kidnaps American wife and children
4) Enslave women




3. Arab stereotypes
d. Desert people
1) Nomads living in tents in the desert
2) Camel drivers
3) War engaged
4) Veiled women


Women’s Issues
(Film clip)




3. Arab stereotypes
e. Backward Arabs
1) Farmers living in houses made of mud
2) Illiterate, poor and uncultured




4. Sources of Arab stereotypes
a. Western orientalists
1) The exotic East as reflected in The Arabian Nights
2) Historic bias against Arabs and Muslims due to orientalists' emphasis on the "constant" rather than the "Changing" nature of Arab culture




4. Sources of Arab stereotypes
b. 1973 Oil embargo
1) OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) restricted oil sales to US because it supported Israel in the 1973 war
2) Impact on American economy and people
3) Arabs treated as enemies




4. Sources of Arab stereotypes
c. Mass media
1) Provide negative images , which create a climate of prejudice and hatred against Arab/Muslim Americans
2) Make bigoted remarks about Americans of Arab heritage



4. Sources of Arab stereotypes
c. Mass media
3) Portrait Arabs and Muslims engaged in abducting women, hijacking airlines and blowing out buildings
4) Hollywood Arab/Muslims are projected as religious fanatics, savage and ruthless murderers, stateless Palestinian bombers, and desert skunks (Shaheen)



Abduction of Women
(Film clip)




Hijacking Planes
(Film clip)




4. Sources of Arab stereotypes
c. Mass media
(a) Saturday morning TV cartoons portray Arabs as villains
(b) Fox Children’s Network’s Batman portrays fanatic dark-complexioned Arabs, armed with rifles, plotting to takeover the world




4. Sources of Arab stereotypes
d. Social studies textbooks in public schools
According to studies conducted by the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), history and geography textbooks used in Michigan and California include ethnic bias, negative stereotypes, and prejudice against Arabs and Muslims.




4. Sources of Arab stereotypes
d. Social studies textbooks in public schools
Examples of such ethnic bias, negative stereotypes, and prejudice against Arabs and Muslims include:
1) Portrayal of the Arab world as consisting of deserts, camels, and nomads
2) Reference to the religion of Islam as “Mohammedanism”
3) Portrayal of Prophet Muhammad's picture
4) Linking Islam to violence and intolerance




Portrait of the Prophet
(Image)




4. Sources of Arab stereotypes
e. Comic books portray Arabs as villains
 Tarzan battles with an Arab chief who kidnaps Jane
 Superman foils Arab terrorists hijacking a US nuclear carrier




4. Sources of Arab stereotypes
f. Computer games
• caricature Arab villains: children get high scores and win by killing Arabs




5. Effects of stereotyping
a. Breed hatred and prejudice
b. Dehumanize people in the eyes of others
c. Create fear and insecurity among those stereotyped; as a result, some people begin to feel inferior and ashamed, and others become belligerent and aggressive




5. Effects of stereotyping
d. Generate harassment and racial discrimination: After September 11, 2001, there have been incidents of racial profiling, detention of Arab Muslim Americans, dehumanizing Arabs and Muslims, verbal and physical harassment, and vandalism against Arab/Muslim Americans
e. Lead to conflicts and wars




5. Effects of stereotyping
f. Create confusion in the minds of Arab-American children when they find that the negative images of Arabs conveyed in their classroom conflicts with their Arab heritage



6. Time for a change
• There have been encouraging attempts recently by television and news media to present a more accurate and humane portrayal of Arabs and Muslims through documentary films (Islam: Empire and Faith) and incorporating Arab-American public figures into television shows (the Zogby brothers).
• There needs to be more conscientious efforts of the following types to eradicate fallacies and negative stereotyping of all types associated with Arabs and Muslims in the press, television networks and entertainment programs.
6. Time for a change
– That political leaders and public opinion makers speak out more forcefully against prejudice, bias, and stereotyping of people
– That the US government promote a direct dialogue with Arab and Muslim leaders throughout the Arab-Muslim world and the United States and in the US as well




6. Time for a change
c. That open debates be held via credible and independent American and Arab-Muslim media allowing intellectuals, politicians, and journalists to express their views openly on issues creating conflicts and misunderstandings.
d. That religious leaders undertake the responsibility of improving communication and mutual understanding among Christians, Muslims and Jews in and out of the US (Christian, Jewish, Muslim Alliance).



• 6. Time for a change
e. That U.S. news media invite more Arab and Muslim intellectuals and political figures to participate in panel discussions and to contribute articles to US newspaper opinion pages. This is intended to help in reporting events honestly and producing factual and accurate news, especially because distorted reporting results in distorted decisions.
f. That Hollywood start showing Arabs and Muslims, in movies, as ordinary decent people rather than fanatic Muslim terrorists who threaten American economy, freedom and culture.



• 6. Time for a change
g. That American educational institutions cooperate with Arab and Muslim educational organizations to organize conferences and invite honest intellectuals to discuss the major sources of the negative stereotyping of Arabs and Muslims and the effects of defamation and discrimination on ethnic groups.

End



---------------------


The full topic:



Content-length: 9617
Content-type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Accept: text/xml,application/xml,application/xhtml+xml,text/html;q=0.9,text/plain;q=0.8,image/png,*/*;q=0.5
Accept-charset: ISO-8859-1,utf-8;q=0.7,*;q=0.7
Accept-encoding: gzip,deflate
Accept-language: en-us,en;q=0.5
Connection: keep-alive
Cookie: *hidded*
Host: www.insideassyria.com
Keep-alive: 300
Referer: http://www.insideassyria.com/rkvsf4/rkvsf_core.php?.Iaty.
User-agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8) Gecko/20051111 Firefox/1.5



Powered by RedKernel V.S. Forum 1.2.b9